CD Reviews

The Original Drifters

Ken Rogers | Easley, SC USA | 09/30/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you are a person that likes the "original" sounds of R&B and 50's Rock'n Roll, this CD is a real lesson in music. The best cut is the Leiber/Stoller classic "Fools Fall In Love" with the fabulous voice of Johnny Moore singing lead. "Seven Days" and "Money Honey" feature Clyde McPhatter up front. 1958's "Moonlight Bay" (only released on one other cd.) and "Drip Drop" feature the lead voice of Bobby Hendricks. All in all this is a small, but good compilation. It's worth the buy."

Twenty-Eight Tunes - Includes The Drifters' White Christmas

Barry C. | USA | 12/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This collection includes the wonderful, classic, Doo-Wop recording of White Christmas by The Drifters! Twenty-eight tunes is quite a deal, but that one track is worth the price of the CD!!!"

Legendary Name - Many Different Components

Barry C. | 02/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When, in 1953, Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records approached Clyde McPhatter, who had just left what would turn out to be another legendary group, Billy Ward and his Dominoes, and asked him to form a new group called The Drifters, he did so by bringing in tenors William "Chick" Anderson and David "Little Dave" Baughan, baritone David Baldwin, and bass James "Wrinkle" Johnson each of whom, like McPhatter, had once been part of The Mount Lebanon Singers.

This formation cut one notable side, Lucille, before Ertegun, seeking a different sound, asked McPhatter to re-organize. This time he recruited brothers Gerhart (baritone) and Andrew (second tenor) Thrasher, high tenor Bill Pinkney, bass Willie Ferbee, and guitarist Walter Adams, and among their initial cuts was Money Honey which, as their first release in late 1953, soared to # 1 R&B and stayed there for an incredible eleven weeks b/w The Way I Feel (not included here). Three years later Elvis Presley would cover the A-side.

Another re-organization was then necessitated by Ferbee leaving the group after being involved in an accident and Adams died. After bringing in guitarist Jimmy Oliver, McPhatter made Gerhart the first tenor, Andrew became the baritone, and Pinkney the bass voice, and in early 1954 this combination turned out Such A Night which made it to # 2 R&B b/w the above-mentioned Lucille, which also charted at # 7 R&B. All four sides to this point were billed to Clyde McPhatter And The Drifters.

Another monster R&B hit then followed in summer 1954 when Honey Love also reached # 1, spending 8 weeks at that position b/w Warm Your Heart (both of which are here, although they do list it incorrectly at track 9). Also here is the uncharted B-side (Someday You'll Want Me To Want You) to their next hit Bip Bam which became a # 7 R&B hit late in 1954 and which is omitted here since it, too, was not part of the original vinyl LPs represented in this Collectables release. These latest hits were billed as The Drifters Featuring Clyde McPhatter.

Then, in time for Christmas 1954, they released White Christmas which peaked at # 2 R&B b/w The Bells Of St. Mary's and the A-side billed to The Drifters Featuring Clyde McPhatter and Bill Pinkney. The A-side would re-chart at # 12 R&B in December 1955 and also become their first Pop cross-over when it made it to # 80 Billboard Top 100. It would chart again at # 96 on what had become the Hot 100 in December 1960 and once more at # 88 Hot 100 in December 1962.

The last hit involving McPhatter, who was drafted in 1954 and who would pursue a solo career when discharged, was What'cha Gonna Do which hit # 2 R&B in the spring of 1955 b/w Gone - unfortunately not included here and one of the hardest to find of that particular group's cuts. They briefly brought back Baughan to replace Clyde but, always regarded as being one sandwich shy of a picnic, he soon was replaced by Johnny Moore who had been lead with a Cleveland group known as The Hornets.

In November 1955, now just billed as The Drifters, Moore's lead took Adorable to # 1 R&B while the flipside Steamboat, with Pinkney doing the lead, made it to # 5 R&B. Moore followed that in May 1956 with Ruby Baby (# 10 R&B) - and covered by Dion in 1963 - b/w Your Promise To Be Mine on which Gerhart Thrasher took the lead, and in late summer Moore came back with both sides of I Gotta Get Myself A Woman (# 11 R&B) and Soldier Of Fortune (regarded as a # 11 R&B "follow-along" hit).

In early 1957 Moore also led on both sides of Fools Fall In Love (# 10 R&B and their second Pop cross-over at # 69 Top 100) and It Was A Tear (not charted), as well as on Hypnotized which failed to make the R&B charts, but did score at # 79 Pop Top 100 b/w Drifting Away From You, on which Gerhart again took the lead. They would then be off any chart for almost a year, including the delightful Yodee Yakee (erroneously spelled at track 21) and it's B-side, I Know, both of which featured Moore.

In August 1958, another newcomer, Bobby Hendricks, was the lead on Drip Drop which became their highest Pop charter to date, reaching # 58 Top 100 but was again blanked on the R&B charts (again covered by Dion in 1963). The flipside, the old standard Moonlight Bay, features the entire group singing in unison. And that was it, as new manager George Treadwell disbanded the group after monetary disputes with Pinkney and Andrew Thrasher, and began forming an entirely new group which would commence their career in the summer of 1959 with There Goes My Baby.

This delightful offering from Collectables gives you most of their early hits and their B-sides, together with three of Clyde's solo efforts (Seven Days - # 2 R&B/# 44 Top 100 in March 1956, b/w I'm Not Worthy Of You, Treasure Of Love - # 1 R&B/# 16 Top 100 in June 1956, and Without Love (There Is Nothing) - # 4 R&B/# 19 Top 100 in February 1957 b/w I Make Believe). The sound reproduction is excellent and in the insert are 5 full pages of background notes by the well-known writer/music historian Marv Goldberg. Simply one of the best Drifters compilations on CD you're apt to find anywhere."